The Return
by Mirai Trunks
Summary: A continuation of book 54, we find out what happens to the Animorphs. Rachel returns in a most unexpected way...
1. Chapter One - The Return

[ Jake ]  
  
"Ram the Blade ship," I repeated.  
  
"Are you crazy!?!" Marco grabbed my shoulder, his eyes wild.  
  
< Rachel, here I come, > Tobias smiled inwardly.  
  
"Yes, Captain," Menderash flipped several switches and pushed forward on the throttle. Our 'stolen' Yeerk craft crashed full speed into the Blade Ship, smashing its command bridge inward. However, this left the _Rachel _in quite a damaged state as we tumbled about inside. Alarms flared everywhere, and red lights flashed in our eyes.   
  
"Did we get 'em?" I rolled over and asked Menderash. He sat up and rubbed his new permanently human head.  
  
"It would seem so, but the _Rachel _is now no longer capable of z-space travel, and we have a pressure leak in the outer hull."  
  
< GO to the shuttles! >  
  
"What was that?" The French officer, Jeanne was puzzled.  
  
< NOW! >   
  
"Better listen to it, Jake," Marco started down the corridor.   
  
< Her you mean, > Tobias grinned as only a hawk could.  
  
"Huh?" I turned to him.   
  
< It's Rachel, she's okay! > He exclaimed with glee.  
  
"But, how?" Marco said.  
  
< Stop worrying about me and get to the damn shuttles already! >   
  
Suddenly, the Blade ship recovered and brought its only functioning canon to bear. It fired once, skimming the top of our craft. We began to scramble to the escape pods. The Blade ship fired again, and the cockpit exploded. A wave of fire, shrapnel and the sucking clutches of space raced after us. Marco, Menderash, Jeanne and Santorelli piled into one escape shuttle. I leapt over a broken off panel on the floor and landed with a thud in the vessel. Tobias stood in place, looking tired.  
  
< She's okay… > He murmured to himself. I reached out of the pod and pulled him inside. Marco slammed the hatch shut. Menderash punched the release button. Nothing happened.   
  
"Oh, no…" Marco said quietly.  
  
< Use the Force, Marco… >  
  
"What!?"   
  
< I always wanted to say that, > Rachel said in a cheerful tone.   
  
< Rachel is that really you!? > Tobias cried out. Marco pounded on the release switch, as the blaze turned the corner and began to head toward us. Santorelli braced himself against the round wall and kicked the release with his booted foot. With a hiss of expelling smoke, the pod broke off the side of the Rachel. Suddenly, the area where we just were exploded, launching us into space.  
  


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[ Tobias ]  
  
We hurtled through the empty reaches of space. Santorelli and Jeanne were the most uncomfortable, since they had never traveled in space before, let alone in a small escape shuttle. Marco amused himself by trying to get her to agree to go on a date with him if we survived this mess.  
  
"Come on, I'll have saved your life, and that makes me all the more irresistible," he pleaded.   
  
"Hah," she replied, and crossed her arms over her chest.   
  
Jake and Menderash were at the controls. I had morphed to human and now sat cross-legged in a corner.  
  
"Any idea where we're headed?" I asked Jake.  
  
"Currently, no."  
  
"The z-space engines were partially damaged in the explosion that sent us off, we would only be able to make short jumps through space. Even so, it would be inherently dangerous to try this, we could very well exit z-space into a sun, crash into an asteroid, or some other horrible conclusion," Menderash said, as he looked over his shoulder.  
  
"It'd be better than dying here when the Blade ship recovers or the Kelbrids hunt us down and take us prisoner," Santorelli stood up, hands on his hips.  
  
"He has a point," Marco said then turned his attention back to Jeanne.  
  
"Shall we?" I gestured toward the controls.   
  
"Alright, Menderash, can you compute a short-jump coordinate into this thing?" Jake put his hand on the back of the chair Menderash was in.  
  
"I can, let's just hope we survive it," his hands danced over the controls. "Ready?" He looked back at us.  
  
"Ready," I confirmed.  
  
"Let's do it," Jake said.  
  
"No wait-" Marco began, but Menderash had already hit the switch.  
  


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[ Marco ]  
  
Menderash pressed the switch and our small shuttle lurched forward. Then time stopped. I looked back at Jeanne, she was frozen with her mouth open, her hands in the air, leaning forward. Santorelli was in mid-air, falling backward. Menderash was braced against his pilot's chair. Why not? I thought and bent over to kiss Jeanne. Someone grabbed the back of my hair and craned my neck back.   
  
"R-Rachel!?!" I stammered.  
  
"None other," she smirked.   
  
"Rachel!" Tobias leapt up and bounded over to her. He scooped her up in his arms and swung her around. The bright white gown she wore whirled in the air. Without the support from Rachel's vise grip, I fell over onto the deck.  
  
"Sorry to break up the moment, but, where are we? What is this?" Jake smiled walked over.  
  
"Allow me to explain," a voice said from the back of the ship.  
  
"Ellimist!" We shouted in unison and turned to face the old man.   
  
"Yes, it is I," he nodded. "Your friend Rachel had gone into a situation in which survival was impossible. According to the game rules I have with Crayak, I was not allowed to interfere, and she died. However, I offered Rachel a proposition, and she gladly accepted."  
  
"What do you mean?" Tobias put Rachel down.  
  
"Crayak has his drode, and now I have Rachel."   
  
"You mean…" Tobias looked into her eyes lovingly.  
  
"No, Tobias, she is not a tool to be used for my own purposes. In exchange for an existence beyond her former life, she has volunteered to be a," he frowned then continued   
"A part-time servant you could say."  
  
"Cool," I said and sat up.   
  
"Then why hasn't she contacted us until now?" Jake asked.  
  
"There was never a need to. You guys seemed to be getting along fine without me," Rachel rested her head on Tobias' shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her. Jake and I smiled.  
  


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[ Tobias ]  
  
Rachel and I kissed. We said our good-byes to Rachel and the Ellimist prepared to revert time to normal. Rachel held out her hand, and I grasped it. In a flutter of white, they disappeared.   
  
"Say hello to mom and my sisters, and of course Casssie," Rachel managed to say before vanishing.  
  
Back in the real time, we shot off into z-space.   



	2. Chapter Two - The End?

[ Tobias ]  
  
Three z-space jumps later, we were closing in on our solar system.  
  
"Captain," Menderash said. "We will be leaving z-space in ten seconds, please brace yourselves."  
  
"Everyone got that? Hold onto something, we're coming out of z-space," Jake turned toward us and announced. I moved into a corner and put my hands on the joining walls. Santorelli and Jeanne strapped down in adjacent chairs, while Marco grabbed a railing on the wall. Gripping the top of the captain's chair, Jake knelt behind Menderash. The former Andalite's hands entered a flurry of commands into the computer. A warning beacon went off and we reverted to normal space.  
  
"Look, it's Earth…" Marco giddily noted. He ran over to the window to get a better look.  
  
"Finally," Jeanne muttered impatiently as she unbuckled her restraints. She got up and walked over to Marco.   
  
"So, about that date…" Marco began and put his arm around her shoulders. Jeanne smirked and elbowed him hard in the gut. Marco winced and backed off, holding his stomach.   
  
"We lost Ax… another Animorph gone…" Jake said solemnly. He furrowed his brow and sighed. His comments brought to mind the vile image of the transformed Ax with teeth. My shorm, my _uncle_, was gone. The _Rachel_ rocked violently, and I was thrown to the deck.  
  
"Captain! We are being attacked from behind!" Menderash announced and whipped the ship to face portside. A large green-brown serpent creature loomed within several feet of us. The eyeless head opened its mouth wide, revealing a cavernous mouth. The _Rachel _began to tremble.   
  
"What the hell…" Santorelli's face showed his fear.   
  
"All energy to the engines, reverse, full throttle!" Jake ordered. The _Rachel _shuddered and our engines were pulled from their resting places. We stared in horror as they were sucked down the bottomless hose that was this monster.  
  
"Odds of successfully surviving this encounter are 3,720 to one," Menderash noted in a grim tone. We were slowly drawn toward the mouth.   
  
"What are we going to do!??" Jeanne yelled frantically.  
  
"You can hold my hand, Jeanne!" Marco offered. She reluctantly accepted. "Ow ow ow!" Not so hard!"   
  
"Sir?" Santorelli looked at Jake who was blinking back tears.   
  
"I'm sorry… it's all my fault…"   
  
"Here we go," I said, but no one heard above the roar in our ears.  


  
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[ Jake ]  
  
I've killed us all, the last of the Animorphs. Oh, I forgot about Cassie. I wished I could have had the chance to hear her voice again as we entered the mouth. Everyone screamed except for Menderash, I guess because of his Andalite pride. Everything went black.  
  
  
  



	3. Chapter Three - The Kelbrid

[ Cassie ]   
  
A feeling a dread suddenly washed over me and I sat down in a chair in my office. I don't know how I know. I can just feel it. Something has happened to Jake and the others. I hadn't had contact with them for almost a year now, but this feeling was quite different from ones I felt several months ago.  
  
"What is it Ma'am? Something wrong?" My aid ran over to me, her voice was full of concern.  
  
"It's… nothing," I sighed. "I'm alright, you can go about your work."  
  
"Are you sure?"   
  
"Yes, I'm fine, thank you," I smiled meekly. However, I was not okay. Something bad had occurred, and I was powerless to do anything about it.  


  
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[ Jake ]   
  
The enveloping darkness fluctuated, then slowly began to dissipate. I blinked several times, as I tried to adjust. Through blurred vision, I saw what looked like Tobias and the others. They also stumbled about as if they were blind. I'm not sure how long we'd been in the darkness, maybe a day, maybe a few hours, maybe five minutes.   
  
"Jake?" I looked over at Marco, who had grabbed my arm to steady himself.  
  
"Yeah?"   
  
"What the hell just happened?"   
  
"I-I don't know," I turned and walked into a large blue creature.  
  
"WELCOME!" The thing shouted. Marco and I crept backward, in order to distance ourselves from this new entity.  
  
< It's him, > Tobias said.   
  
My eyes fully adjusted to the light. We were in a wide, grassy field. The grass was a light blue. We were all there, Tobias, Marco, Menderash, Jeanne, Santorelli and myself. He was there as well. The One. It looked like Ax, except for the mouth full of teeth. And the ridge of spikes running down its back, the gills on the shoulders, talons on the now more muscular arms, four large, two toed and clawed feet, and the scaled tail, which ended in a circular blade.  
  
"How did you like my pet, the Uvbin? It is quite a wondrous creature, being able to pierce the z-space realm and all," it steepled its talons and gloated.   
  
"What!? Impossible!" Menderash was obviously shaken.  
  
"Ah yes, the nothlit Andalite, how pitiful," The One smirked. "You Andalites act all high and mighty because of your advanced 'technology', but when someone comes out with a new and better toy you won't accept the truth. I guarantee that any Andalite vessel you have is of no match to my Kelbrid weapons. Of course," he turned to look at Tobias, "The Kelbrid are merely part of me, this form that you see me in is merely a physical manifestation of my tremendous power. The Andalite Aximili Esagarouth Isthil is no longer in existence. He is but a minute part of my vast being."  
  
< You're going to pay, > Tobias glared at The One.  
  
"Your heroic antics on earth for the past several years will have in no way prepared you to survive this next encounter, little Tobias. I'm afraid that you and your friends will be slaughtered and your consciousness will be absorbed by me."  
  
"You don't know what you're dealing with, pal," Marco crossed his arms over his chest.  
  
"No, I believe it is you who are mistaken," The One let out a high pitched screech. A glowing green portal appeared thirty feet behind him. Several other high pitched screeches answered him. The ground began to rumble. Thousands of aliens poured out of the portal and lined up behind The One. They were bipedal, green-brown, and obviously reptilian, with clawed four toed feet, their thorax was pitched forward where a human stomach would have been, a large, four foot long head protruded outward, with a large mouth containing hundreds of rows of large, knife-like teeth. They had two three foot long arms, one on either side of the head, with elbows bent upward, each of the limbs ended in two sickle-shaped hooks. Over each of the two pairs of eyes was a rounded spike that formed a hood over the slit-pupil, bright yellow optical orbs. They had two sets of nostrils, one at the end of the snout and one a few inches below the eyes. The multitude of green-brown aliens swayed back and forth rhythmically. "Meet the Kelbrid." The creatures honked in unison as if on cue.   
  
We were all terrified at the multitude of menacing Kelbrid. My heart felt as if it would burst from my chest. Jeanne took one look and fainted. Marco and Santorelli rushed over to her. Tobias stood next to me, looking defiant, even as a hawk. Menderash looked as though he really regretted his decision to become a nothlit in human form. He and the two officers had absolutely no chance of survival if a battle started. Even with our many morphs, I had no doubt Tobias, Marco, and I would be cut down in a heartbeat. Not only did the Kelbrid look extremely agile and deadly, they had the odds on their side in sheer numbers. Time to try the negotiator act.  
  
"Is there any possibility you'll let us go?"  
  
"I'm sorry, but no, I will enjoy watching you all die," he punctuated the last word with a hiss.   
  
"The Andalites will come for us, proviso or no proviso," Menderash declared.  
  
"Let them! They, too will be annihilated and absorbed. I will however, 'even' the odds slightly," he looked at Menderash and his eyes glowed for a moment. Menderash became his old self. "I have restored your morphing capability, use it wisely." Menderash looked down at his hands, then waved his tail around behind him happily. The one looked at his Kelbrid and barked several times. They warbled in reply. Suddenly, they were upon us.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Chapter Four - The Battle Begins

[ Cassie ]  
  
"Sir, you must understand, it is of dire necessity that you send ships to investigate the disappearance of Prince Aximili Esgarouth Isthil and Jake Berenson," I was tired of playing games with this guy. Asculan-Semitur-Langor, the very same jerk that confronted us shortly after we claimed the pool-ship had been assigned to be Ax's replacement as the ambassador for Andalite-Human politics.   
  
< We do not know if they are merely too busy with the chase to contact us. >  
  
"That's the point! Do you not realize that they could be injured, dying, or dead? Your own people, sir! And you don't care at all." I jabbed a finger in his blue chest. He stared at me in sheer hatred and I hastily retracted the offending digit. "Please, listen to reason!"  
  
< I have spoken with 'Reason' and I was told not to interfere! > Ha ha. < Any dealings with the Kelbrid are off limits to _all _Andalites, > he turned to leave. I was ready to bite his head off, morph or no morph. I jogged ahead of him and stopped in front of the only exit.   
  
"You, Captain-Prince Asculan, are a coward and a disgrace to your people." He flinched as if I had struck him.   
  
< And you are the little human female who was too scared to leave the security of her home planet, to go on an inherently dangerous suicide mission with the friends, who she now hopes to rescue with Andalite help which would cause the start of an intergalactic war. > I would have slapped him, but I would be cut down by Andalite tail blades the second I made contact. He waved his hand as if to brush me off and trotted out the door with his two officers.  
  
"Katherine."  
  
"Yes, Ma'am?" My aid now stood beside me.   
  
"Contact the President at once, I have a matter of utmost importance to discuss with her."  
  
"Yes Ma'am," she left the room to make the phone call.  
  


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[ Marco ]  
  
The Kelbrid were as we expected. No, they were probably worse. The One grinned and gestured toward us. A great cry arose from the mouths of thousands of Kelbrid.   
  
"Battle morphs NOW!" Jake called above the roar of the stampede. Menderash ran over to Jeanne and Santorelli. They clambered onto his back and he took off in the opposite direction. I don't blame him, he didn't have half the combat experience we had, and at least they'd have a chance for survival now. Tobias started morphing Ax. How ironic. Jake went tiger. I went wolf. In this situation we required speed and killing power, so gorilla was not an option. Morphs now finished, we went after Menderash. I mean, really, what else could we do? The three of us against ten thousand Kelbrid. Real fair.   
  
< What are we going to do? > Tobias said.  
  
< It seems that we don't have anywhere to hide, > Jake looked around.   
  
< I say, to hell with running. If we have to die, we have to die fighting. > I can't believe I just said that, I guess it was a Rachel moment. The Kelbrid were gaining on us. Despite our head start, there was only a good twenty feet between us. I stopped and whirled around. Tobias and Jake followed suit. My heart felt as if it would burst from my chest. I exhaled sharply and we raced toward the enemy.   
  


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[ Jake ]   
  
This was it. The three of us made an about face. We then made our brave charge into the Kelbrid. Tobias lanced out and beheaded a Kelbrid. The monstrous head thumped onto the ground, followed by the body. I pounced onto another's huge face. Gripping the front nostrils with my back paws, I reached under the coverings and clawed it blind. It let out an ear-bursting squeal and tumbled backward.   
  
Marco was latched onto the back of one's head. His powerful jaws refused to give way as the Kelbrid shook its massive head violently. Another came behind him and snapped at his dangling body. Marco sprang from the first and over the second. The Kelbrid bit into the other, and bisected it from shoulder to hip. A Kelbrid hammered me with a fist, I flipped over and sprawled on the ground. I saw part of my pelvis breaching the skin of my hip. I tried to pull myself up and slumped back down.  
  
Marco screamed as one Kelbrid head-butted him and another bit off his back legs. He crawled forward and sagged down in a pool of blood. Tobias' tail had been torn off and eaten, blade and all. He leaned forward on his front hooves and back-kicked a Kelbrid. Its neck broke with a sickening crack. He kicked out again and was attacked from the side. His front legs were quickly severed, followed by his right arm as he tried to push the demonic being away.   
  
The mayhem suddenly stopped and the Kelbrid formed a ring around us. They parted as the One entered the circle. He moved toward us and peered downward.   
  
"Don't tell me that's it. The _famous _Animorphs can't even put up a fight for two minutes?" He scoffed. It had been less than two minutes? I can't believe it. Marco growled weakly and Tobias was breathing very hard.   
  
< You will pay > I tried sounding tough, which is kind of hard to do when one is in a heap on the ground with a completely shattered pelvis. The One laughed heartily.   
  
"I think not, 'Jake the Yeerk killer'" He sneered at those last words. The look on what had been Ax's face made me sick. "You have killed millions of Yeerks, yet you as a group can take out a total of three Kelbrid, and wound two others, how utterly pathetic." The One cocked his head. "No matter, it was due to occur sooner or later, I'll begin the absorption process."   
  
Without warning, the nearest Kelbrid sagged and fell over. Two others crashed to the ground beside it. A rider-less Menderash struck again and again at a group of Kelbrid. The One hissed and launched himself at the Andalite. He swung his tail and pierced Menderash through the back. The blade exited on the right side of his chest. Menderash's eyes widened in shock and pain and his arms fell limp at his sides. His stalk eyes fluttered and closed, and his main eyes closed halfway. The One tossed the wounded Andalite with his tail. He landed next to Marco and turned his head to look at me.   
  
< I've failed you, Captain. > His eyes closed and he was no more.   
  
"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted-" The One began.  
  
"**ENOUGH**!" An earth-shattering yell filled the air. The Kelbrid parted again. An old man walked through to the center of the circle. "You wretched excuse for a gamer!" The Ellimist snarled at the One. He threw his hand downward and gestured toward Menderash. He awoke and shook his head. Time froze and we reverted back to our human selves. Rachel stepped out from behind of Kelbrid, her white gown flowed to a non-existent breeze. The One and the Ellimist were staring each other down.  
  
"You have broken the rules of the game, and you will suffer accordingly," The Ellimist said in a suddenly calm tone. Gamers _do not_ actively participate in the game, you know this well."  
  
"What the hell is going on?" Marco broke the silence.  
  
"You see, after the Animorphs had defeated the Yeerks, I had also defeated Crayak. He moved on as did I. This new being called the One opted to challenge me to a game. I accepted. This," he waved his arms around, "is all part of it," he turned to the One. "However, the rules of all games expressly forbid the gamer from participating in the game itself. Our friend here should _not _be commanding the Kelbrid army." The One laughed nervously. "It seems that since the regulations have been violated I will have to alter the game accordingly."   
  
The Ellimist faced us. "I am sending you back to Earth, where you will lead the Earth's forces against the Kelbrid opposition. I also reluctantly permit Rachel to possess the ability to change realms. She will be available for Earth come time for the battle, until that then, she remains in my presence. You on the other hand," He jabbed a finger into the One's chest. "Will not interfere in the slightest manner for the remainder of the game, whatever the outcome is, you will abide by it. Should you choose to infract the rules a second time, I will personally see to your destruction." In the blink of an eye, we were back on Earth, where Ax's scoop used to be. Vegetation covered the area where his home had been.   
  
"What now, oh fearless leader?" Marco raised an eyebrow and looked toward me. Jeanne, Santorelli, and Menderash were also present, they were in an apparent state of confusion.  
  
"Prepare for war."   
  



End file.
